RENOVATING NEGLECTED ORCHARDS 399 



basic slag, which contains a large proportion of lime, may be sub- 

 stituted occasionally for the raw ground bone. Free lime, or fer- 

 tilizers containing lime, like basic slag and wood ashes, should not 

 be used with acid phosphate, for the reason that lime renders it 

 insoluble. Good results in orchard renovation have followed the 

 use of 200 pounds of muriate of potash and 400 pounds of basic 

 slag per acre. The quantities of the various materials required for 

 single, full-grown trees may be determined by dividing the given 

 amounts by 30. 



Commercial fertilizers are best applied after plowing, when they 

 should be thoroughly worked into the soil by disking. It is impor- 

 tant to get them into the soil just as growth is commencing in 

 the spring. 



Cover crops. From the standpoint of orchard renovation the use 

 of cover crops is probably of greatest importance in utilizing the 

 surplus plant food and moisture in the fall. This checks the growth 

 of the trees, and thus sends them into the winter in a well-ripened 

 condition ; otherwise the stimulating effect of pruning, fertilizing, 

 and cultivating may prolong the growth of the trees into the fall. 



Some cover crops meet all the general requirements of the or- 

 ehard, 1 but for the renovated orchard the legume group — vetches, 

 clovers, cowpeas, and soy beans — are best. In some particular 

 cases where these have failed or seem to be impracticable, rye, 

 turnips, buckwheat, or the like, may be substituted. 



These cover crops are generally plowed under in the spring, 

 but if the trees, after a few years, are making satisfactory growth 

 and if the crop is hardy, it may be well occasionally to allow it to 

 remain during the summer. If this is done, it should be prevented 

 from going to seed by mowing it regularly and leaving it where it 

 falls, to form a mulch. 



Orchards poorly situated. There are few orchards in which a 

 thorough system of up-to-date management cannot be employed. 

 Occasionally an orchard is found on comparatively heavy soil and 

 so situated that if kept under cultivation the soil would probably 

 wash badly. Washing may often be prevented by terracing, which 

 consists in leaving a narrow strip of sod along the rows, or between 

 the rows, and cultivating the rest of the ground. 

 1 See Chapter XI. 



